The findings emerge from a study involving 10,000 British children and 250 teachers carried out by researchers at the Jubilee Centre, an academic unit at Birmingham University dedicated to studying issues such as “character education”.

As part of the research a sample of children aged 14 and 15 from across Britain were asked to take part in “moral dilemma” tests in which they are faced with a series of detailed scenarios and a choice of what to do.

In each case they were given a range of possible responses and then asked to select one as well as giving a reason for their choice.

Those choices were then compared against a list of “preferred options” chosen by an expert panel based on whether they showed qualities such as honesty, self-discipline, courage and an overall lack of self-interest.

Overall only 42.6 per cent of the teenagers’ responses matched the more moral options chosen by of the panel.

Girls far outperformed boys with a 47 per cent match compared with only 37 per cent.

Notably, the results also lagged behind those in comparable studies in other countries such as Taiwan where children achieved a 53 per cent match and the US with 49 per cent but well ahead of those in Macedonia.

But the researchers also analysed the teenagers’ scores in the moral dilemma based on other information they had given about their hobbies and interests, beliefs and backgrounds.

Overall those who were members of choirs or took part in other musical activities outside school were 17 per cent more likely to choose the more moral options than those who did not. Similarly those involved in drama groups outside school scored 14 per cent better on average while those involved in photography or art groups also fared better.

By contrast those involved in sports clubs or teams scored marginally worse than those who did not.

Similarly those who said they adhered to a religion scored almost 10 per cent more highly on average than those who said they were atheist or left the question blank. And the gap widened to 14 per cent when comparing those who said they were actively practising against those with no religion.

Although the schools in which children scored most highly spanned the regions and social backgrounds, the top school on the moral dilemma tests was a Roman Catholic academy in the midlands with two other Christian schools in the top seven.

The researchers noted: “Despite a widely held public belief that sport builds character, this is not always supported in the philosophical and empirical literature.

“Arguments against sport as a character builder take the line that sport is a neutral domain, and qualities developed from this do not necessarily transfer to other domains.

“Researchers have also pointed to much negative behaviour involved in sport. All of this is not to say that sport cannot be used to build character, but it can only if coaches and parents etc work together to ensure positive character building in sport.”

Prof James Arthur, director of the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues, said: “Academic attainment is, of course, important, but the moral character of a child matters more.

“Research shows that a good grasp of moral virtues, such as kindness, honesty and courage can help children to flourish as human beings, and can also lead to improvements in the classroom.

“And that level of understanding doesn’t just happen; it needs to be nurtured and encouraged, both in school and at home.”